Optical media include Compact Disc (CD), Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), Blu-ray Disc, hardware to read optical media, and so on. Optical media are among the most cost-effective ways to store data. Accordingly, optical media is one of the most widespread ways to proliferate protected content. For similar reasons, unfortunately, optical discs are often the target of counterfeiting. A counterfeiter typically obtains an authorized or unauthorized version of digital content, from example, from an authorized or unauthorized version of a disc which stores that content. The counterfeiter then duplicates the content of that disc on a potentially large number of counterfeit discs. Such content may include movies, software, games, or any other type of digital content.
Manufacturers lose a tremendous amount of revenue due to counterfeiters duplicating and selling the manufacturer's optical media products. Counterfeiting relates to a situation in which the seller defrauds the buyer into believing that a product is authentic and then collects the full market price for the product. The counterfeiter collects substantial revenue with profit margins typically higher than that of the original manufacturer due to lack of research and development, marketing costs, and so on.
In one approach to reduce to counterfeiting of optical discs and other products, a manufacturer of a product can add a unique identification (ID) to the product. However, such an approach is not always effective. Despite preventative efforts, a counterfeiter can potentially discover the ID and subsequently duplicate the ID on the counterfeit products. In general, conventional methods for detecting counterfeited optical media are unreliable.